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b.
11 May 1880
, only son of
EdwardDavies
and
Mary
, dau. of
EvanJones
, a
Calvinistic Methodist minister
who was closely related to
JohnJones
of
Talysarn
(
1796
-
1857
;
DWB
, 478-9)
. He was the grandson of
DavidDavies
(
1818
-
1890
;
DWB
, 116)
, the
Welshindustrialist
of the Victorian period, whose energy and enterprise he inherited. Educated at
King's College
,
Cambridge
, he entered the
House of Commons
at 26 years of age as
Liberal member
for
Montgomeryshire
, resigning his seat in
1929
. In
World War I
, he raised and commanded the
14th Battalion
, the
Royal Welsh Fusiliers
, at home and in
France
until
1916
, when he was appointed
Parliamentary Secretary
to
DavidLloyd George
.

His name will be inseparably connected with his two main public interests-the Welsh campaign against
tuberculosis
and the
international crusade for world peace
. In
1911
, together with his sisters, the
MissesGwendoline E.
and
Margaret S.Davies
of
Gregynog Hall
, (see below)
he founded the
King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association
which, under his direction, developed into a nation-wide scheme with many sanatoria and hospitals. The
Llandinam
family also endowed the
University Chair of Tuberculosis
at the
Welsh National School of Medicine
. From
1919DavidDavies
was equally
tireless in the pursuit of international peace
, carrying on the tradition of the Welsh pioneers
RichardPrice
,
RobertOwen
, and
HenryRichard
. A
founder
of the
League of Nations Union
, he later gained prominence as the foremost advocate of strengthening the
League of Nations
by the creation of an
International Police Force
. In
1932
he established the
New Commonwealth Society
for
‘the promotion of international law and order’
, writing several books on the right use of force, notably
The Problem of the Twentieth Century
(
1930
). In
Nov. 1938
, one of his ambitions was realised in the completion of the
Temple of Peace and Health
in
Cathays Park
,
Cardiff
.

For many years he was
president
of the
University College
at
Aberystwyth
and amongst his numerous benefactions was the endowment of the
Wilson chair of International Politics
, the first chair of its kind in
Great Britain
. He was also
president
and a generous
patron
of the
National Library of Wales
.

Though he had a wide range of industrial and commercial activities, essentially he was a countryman keenly
interested in sport
and at
Llandinam
he
maintained foxhounds
. He was an ardent supporter of the
Royal Welsh Agricultural Society
.

He was twice married. His first wife, who d.
in
1918
, was
Amy
, dau. of
L.T.Penman
of
Broadwood Park
,
Lanchester
; they had one son and one daughter. In
1922
he married
Henrietta Margaret
(
Rita
)
, dau. of
James GrantFergusson
, of
Baledmund
,
Scotland
(d.
1948
); they had two sons and two daughters.

LordDavies
d.
16 June 1944
. In Sept. of the same year, his heir,
MajorDAVIDDAVIES
(
1915
-
1944
) of the
Royal Welch Fusiliers
,
second Baron Davies of Llandinam
(b.
16 Jan. 1915
), was killed on the
Western Front
. He m.
Ruth Eldrydd
, dau. of
MajorWilliam MarshallDugdale
and his wife, of
Llanfyllin
, in
1939
. They had 2 sons.